What is a safe work permit?
A safe work permit is a written record that
authorizes specific work, at a specific work
location, for a specific time period. Permits are
used for controlling and co-ordinating work to
establish and maintain safe working conditions.
They ensure that all foreseeable hazards have
been considered and that the appropriate
precautions are defined and carried out in the
correct sequence.
The permit is an agreement between the issuer
and the receiver that documents the
conditions, preparations, precautions, and
limitations that need to be clearly understood
before work begins.
The permit records the steps to be taken to
prepare the equipment, building, or area for
the work, and the safety precautions, safety
equipment, or specific procedures that must
be followed to enable the worker(s) to safety
complete the work.
Who benefits from a work permit
program?
Any industry that has a significant risk because
of particular hazards. Any prime contractor
who lets out or sub-contracts work to others to
do maintenance or other hazardous work.
Organizations that have individual employees
working in isolated areas and performing non-
routine work.
Why use a work permit?
All work exposes the worker to some degree of hazard.
This degree of hazard determines the type of safeguards
required to protect the worker. Most routine work has
defined safe work practices or procedures.
In the absence of such procedures, safe work permits
should be used. Workers engaged in maintenance work
may be at risk if the machinery they are working on is
started unexpectedly. Such machinery and equipment
needs to be isolated by blanking, blinding, or a power
lockout system. These procedures can be clearly identified
by a work permit system.
Types of safe work permits
Hot work permit
Cold work permit
Confined space work permit
Hot Work Permit
Hot work permits are used when heat or
sparks are generated by work such as
welding, burning, cutting, riveting, grinding,
drilling, and where work involves the use of
pneumatic hammers and chippers, non-
explosion proof electrical equipment (lights,
tools, and heaters), and internal combustion
engines.
Three types of hazardous situations need to be
considered when performing hot work:
(a) the presence of flammable materials in the
equipment;
(b) the presence of combustible materials that burn or
give off flammable vapours when heated; and
(c) the presence of flammable gas in the atmosphere,
or gas entering from an adjacent area, such as
sewers that have not been properly protected.
(Portable detectors for combustible gases can be
placed in the area to warn workers of the entry of
these gases.)
Cold Work Permit
Cold work permits are used in hazardous
maintenance work that does not involve
“hot work”. Cold work permits are issued
when there is no reasonable source of
ignition, and when all contact with harmful
substances has been eliminated or
appropriate precautions taken.
Confined Space Entry Permit
Confined space entry permits are used
when entering any confined space such as
a tank, vessel, tower, pit or sewer. The
permit should be used in conjunction with
a “Code of Practice” which describes all
important safety aspects of the operation.
Special Permits
Some employers use special permits to
cover specific hazards such as:
extremely hazardous conditions;
radioactive materials;
PCBs and other dangerous chemicals;
excavations;
power supplies.
General procedure
Safe work permits are usually made out in either
duplicate or triplicate. When a duplicate system is used,
one copy of the permit is retained by the issuer at the
work site and the other is held by the worker/department
doing the work.
The permit should always be available at the work site.
The permit is handed back to the issuer at the end of the
shift or when the work is completed. In a triplicate permit
system, the third copy is used by the safety department to
audit the work to see if the requirements of the permit
are being met.
Example of a safe work permit checklist A safe work
permit is a written record that identifies:
(1) the date, time of issue, and time of expiry of the
permit;
(2) the location of the work —it must be as specific as
possible;
(3) the department or company doing the work;
(4) a description of the work to be done;
(5) any toxic, corrosive, flammable, or other dangerous
materials in the immediate work area;
(6) whether the work area has been inspected and found
free of the above materials;
(7) the need for fire protection;
(8) the need for isolation — electrical and mechanical
hazards locked out and tagged, piping blanked off, tagged,
disconnected, drained, or vented;
(9) the need for ventilation — air, steam, inert gas purge;
(10) the need for testing prior to or during the work for:
harmful substances;
combustible gases;
oxygen deficiency;
other hazards e.g. radiation; any specific health
hazard — is Material Safety Data Sheet information
required?;
11) the need for specific personal protective equipment to protect
the worker from the hazard;
(12) the need for specific personal protective equipment to protect
the worker from the hazard;
(13) the need for emergency procedures and competent rescue
personnel;
(14) a special instructions and comments section — special
procedures, special precautions;
(15) a general instruction-to-receiver section;
(16) the name and job title of the person who issued the permit and
when;
(17) the name and job title of the person who received the permit
and when;
(18) that the work has been completed and the permit signed by
the person returning it; and
(19) the name of the person signing off the permit and whether or
not the work has been completed.
